I'm starting with Sweden because they are defending Gold Medal winners, and for good reason. Their lineup of centers is rivaled only by Canada but still may be the best in Backstrom, Forsberg, H. Sedin, and Zetterberg.

The rest of the team is no slouch either. They have one of the best goaltenders in the tournament in Henrik Lundqvist and a solid defensive corps headlined by leading active Norris Trophy recipient Nicklas Lidstrom.

Predicted Round Robin Record, Playoff Seed and Notable Game:

3-0 (2nd) vs. Finland (Sunday, Feb 21 9:00 PST MSNBC)

Expectations:

There is simply no reason, on paper, why Sweden won't at least get to the Gold Medal Game again this year. Their roster is too experienced, too talented, and just too damn good.

This should go without saying, but I am going to say it. Canada is among the favorites, if not THE favorite; obviously because of the people on their roster; but it's interesting to examine some of the players left off the roster:

And clearly, the list goes on. If a country could ever enter more than one team, I don't know if the gold medal would ever leave Canada's soil, because their B team COULD actually medal.

The home-ice advantage is an interesting X-factor for Team Canada; it should prove to be an advantage if for no other reason than that the tournament will be played on North American size ice, rather than international.

This just means that the rink is narrower, and provides less room for the speedy but less physical Europeans, and is widely considered to favor the Canadian style of play.

But the fact that Canada already boasts perhaps the most impressive roster of NHL players makes the pressure on the Red and White enormous—add the fact that they will be playing in their home country and the pressure cannot be any higher. This situation is what can sometimes give nothing-to-lose type teams a leg to stand on when facing off against the home 'favourites'.

Predicted Round Robin Record, Playoff Seed and Notable Game(s):

3-0 (1st) vs. U.S.A. (Sunday, Feb 21 4:40pm PST MSNBC)

No matter what, try to catch at least one of Canada's games, against any team. They are sure to exhibit how the game is meant to be played, with a stacked roster of some of the most talented players to ever play the game. I can count at least eight sure future hall of famers, and the rest are simply undetermined because they are under 25. The game vs. U.S.A. will be an absolute doozy.

Expectations:

If these players don't make it to the Gold Medal game then they may be deported.

Sure there may be some names that North American fans won't recognize, but the group of top six forwards is among the best ever assembled with Ovechkin, Malkin, Kovalchuk, Datsyuk, Semin, and Fedorov.

It may not matter who is playing defense or who's between the pipes because they could conceivably score 10 goals per game with this lineup. However, the defense is pretty competent with Sergei Gonchar and Andrei Markov, as well as the 'A-Train' Anton Volchenkov.

Goaltenders Bryzgalov and Nabakov are among the NHL's best as well, so there is no doubt that this team will crush much of its competition.

The Fins are always impressive in these tournaments, and feature a nice mix of veterans and young talent. Miika Kiprusoff and Niklas Backstrom are among the best two goaltenders in the games.

I do think, however, that they are not what they once were, but still posses the ability to beat anyone on any given day. They are mostly strong from the net out, and these tournaments seem to favor the ability to score rather than the ability to defend.

Predicted Round Robin Record, Playoff Seed and Notable Game:

2-1 (4th) vs. Sweden (Sunday, Feb 21 9:00 PST MSNBC)

Expectations:

They expect to bring home a medal.

My Prediction:

Losing a close one in a quarterfinals against a team that will make it to the Gold Medal game.

This is an impressive team that could upset some teams in Vancouver. Jagr is not what he once was, but has been known to elevate his game in international competition. And if he can find that youthful skating stride, look out. The roster from top to bottom is solid, though not frightening.

I've been following the assembly of this team for over a year. Only recently have I not only come to terms with the selections, but am 95 percent satisfied. (I would love to see T.J. Oshie on the squad and presume that he is the first in line should someone get injured).

The defense is young but talented, and has fairly good size. Erik Johnson has played particularly well this year after missing all of last year with a freak knee injury.

The top two lines provide a pretty formidable scoring threat, and the bottom two lines can skate and grind with any team in the tournament.

But the U.S.'s hopes lie mainly with one man:

Ryan Miller.

Miller is a top-tier goaltender in the NHL and the world. He is at the top of his game right now and the U.S. team will go as far as he is able to lead them.

Predicted Round Robin Record, Playoff Seed and Notable Game(s):

2-1 (5th) vs. Canada (Sunday, Feb 21 4:40pm PST MSNBC)

Expectations:

There really aren't any. The Gold Medal by the U.S. Junior team this year may add some hype, but passive hockey fans probably haven't heard of half of these guys, and the average age is only 26.6 with not much, if any, international experience.

This roster is missing another NHL player that I thought would be there: Los Angeles King Raitis Ivanans. Not that he is a very talented forward, but I have heard he would make the squad as one of the few Latvian born NHLers.

With or without him, they got screwed with perhaps the toughest pool, playing against Russia, Czech Republic, and Slovakia during round robin play. They will not win any of these games, thus making them face another tough opponent in the first round of playoff play.

They also have a tough pool against the Canadians and Americans, and will probably even lose to Switzerland. It's strange how they can neighbor such a hockey powerhouse (Sweden) and still be so mediocre.

Though absent of any NHL playing forwards, this is somewhat of an interesting team. Mark Streit is not only a competent NHL defenseman, but he is borderline brilliant.

Jonas Hiller is emerging as the starter for the Anaheim Ducks, and will be backed up by some pretty decent netminders as well.

Expectations:

They hope to beat Norway and get a decent seed if they don't get crushed by Canada and the U.S.

My Prediction:

My pick for the eighth seed playing one of the bottom four in the first round of playoffs. This just means that they'll be the only team from this group to get two wins in the tournament.

Overall

So I predict the following:

Gold: Canada

Silver: Sweden

Bronze: U.S.A.

The bottom line is, if you can only watch two days of hockey, snuggle up to your favorite LCD on February 21 all day to watch the six best teams in the tournament (Russia vs. Czech, Canada vs. USA, and Sweden vs. Finland), and on February 28 to watch the Gold Medal game.

I will be in Vancouver figuring out how to sneak into Hockey Place so I don't have to spend $5000 on tickets.